Dazzling revamp of Cott’s Indiana Tea House revealed

The much-loved Indiana Tea House in Cottesloe is set for an amazing facelift, with plans to renovate and extend it with a luxury boutique hotel.

New plans submitted to Cottesloe Council reveal the renovated venue will include three levels of kiosk, cafe and fine dining, a rooftop pool and bar, as well as a 31-room hotel to be built on the beach side of Marine Parade.

The redesign means the world-class beach will finally get al fresco dining, while a new lift and public amenities will make it a place for everyone.

Leaseholders Andrew and Nicola Forrest, of Tattarang, said the plan concluded years of community consultation which showed a strong attachment to the existing beach-front facade.

Ms Forrest said the Indiana’s next chapter would be one that respected the history of the site while improving its functionality.

“We share the community’s passion to retain Indiana’s iconic western facade and to preserve the building’s legacy for future generations,” she said.

“As the committed custodians of this important site, we believe Indiana can, and should, play a more meaningful role in the lives of locals and visitors alike, and our ambitions are clear — we want to deliver the best beachside precinct in Australia, one for all Australians to enjoy.”

The decision to maintain the existing structure not only reflects its current importance, as the redesign will give a nod to the area’s longer-term history.

A proposed promenade through the complex is similar to the Cottesloe boardwalk of the 1960s, while the rooftop bar is reminiscent of the open-air dance floor known as Palais de Danse when the site was the Centenary Pavilion in the 1930s.

The complex seeks to fit into its surroundings, with a stepped-down design from the hotel towards the beach in line with Cottesloe’s famous tiered grass terraces.

Controversially there is no on-site parking, despite estimates the venue will attract 600 to 700 people at any time. In lieu of this, Tattarang will contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to the local council, to assist it with offsite parking.

Under the plans by architecture firm Woods Bagot, the boat storage facility would be moved to a new, bigger beach-front site closer to Cottesloe Surf Club.

Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club general manager Kim Welch welcomed the move, claiming a bigger facility would better enable it to serve the public.

In place of the boat store at the base of the pavilion, the ground floor will provide public toilets, indoor and outdoor showers and the only beachside changing places facility for people with complex disabilities between Scarborough and Mandurah.

A separate 31-room, three-level hotel facing Marine Parade will include a subterranean hydrotherapy and day spa.

An open area beneath the hotel would provide covered public space to escape the heat and stage community events.